China Says ‘No’ to Pirated Software

Xinhua, 5 April 2002

TIANJIN, April 5 (Xinhua)China has resorted to laws and
regulations to crack down on the production and marketing of pirated
software, in order to better protect intellectual property rights.

Regulations on the management of audio-visual products, which became
effective in February, for the first time stipulate that those people
who are engaged in the production and marketing of pirated products
will be prosecuted.

The Copyright Law, which was revised last year, and the newly-promulgated
regulations on the protection of computer software fully
embody protection of the rights and interests of copyright owners.

Authoritative statistics show that China's authorized software
industry suffers a direct annual loss of more than 40 billion yuan
(4.8 billion U.S. dollars) brought about by pirated versions.

Pirated software has taken off nationwide because it is sold at a very
low price compared to the authorized versions.

To this end, four state ministries and departments, including the
Ministry of Finance and the National Copyright Administration (NCA),
jointly issued a circular stipulating that government departments must
make a special budget this year for purchasing authorized software.

The circular says that those departments, who do not buy authorized
software and are charged with infringement of copyright, can be sued
for damages. Relevant leaders and people who buy pirated software in
person will be given administrative punishment.

The government's efforts to root out pirated software have won growing
support from both consumers and local government bodies nationwide.

As a consumer, I think people should pay respect to the work of
others while enjoying their own rights. This also amounts to
self-respect, said a 40-year-old consumer of an intellectual
origin in Tianjin, north China.

Tianjin Municipal Government has launched a month-long drive to
promote the use of authorized software.

Consumers have also benefited a lot from the utilization of authorized
software.

Shen Xuemei, head of computer management at the Beijing Municipal
Architecture Design Institute, said, Using authorized software, we
can enjoy official training and better after-sale services from
software developers. More important, we know more functions of the
software than in the past.

Beijing Huasiwei Science and Technology Company is also one of the
beneficiaries. General Manager Wu Xiaoyuan said his company had sold
less than 30 sets of software annually in the past, while in 2001, the
company sold nearly 2,000 sets.

Encouraged by the government's purchase of authorized software, major
Chinese software and audio-visual products developers have put forward
low-price software and audio-visual products to attract consumers
since the end of last year.

Beijing has invested more than one million yuan (120,000 U.S. dollars)
in publicizing the use of authorized products among its 1. 2 million
primary, middle school and college students. In Tianjin- based Nankai
University, more students have voluntarily joined the boycott of
pirated products.

The improved market environment for authorized software and
audio-visual products is attributed to the hard strike that the
Chinese government has taken against pirating activities.

The Ministry of Culture ordered the closure of 277 audio-visual
products centers nationwide. On March 10, Beijing announced the
verdict on a case involving the country's biggest ever pirated books
rings. Dealers of the pirated books were harshly punished.

The government will not stop its efforts to crack down on pirating
activities so long as they exist, said Xu Chao, an official with
the NCA, noting that it is the basic principle.